December 14, 2011

To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Question...

If you are like several people that I know and have worked with you feel like you want to start telling everyone about the abuse that you have endured. Some decide to do that from the awareness stance, some decide to go into prevention work, and others decide to just tell their own stories and encourage others to heal through knowing they aren't alone. Regardless of your reason for wanting to speak out, you are now faced with the question of: How do I do this safely and What is the best way for me to reach others? Is blogging really for me?; is another question that many think about when trying to decide to start a blog or not.

Do you like to write? Do you keep a journal and feel that you would like to share parts of it with others to help them in their healing? Whether or not you have good spelling, grammar or typing skills should not matter in your decision to start blogging.

Perhaps you are not ready to start blogging or just the thought of it is giving you anxiety attacks...for various reasons. You could also consider micro-blogging through a service such as twitter.com or using the notes and/or status section of a facebook.com profile to get started with.

There are so many different platforms out there for blogging that it would be impossible for me to cover every one of them. I personally like blogger.com the best for those that are new to blogging. I recommend jigsy.com for those that want a website and blog meshed together. I have used wordpress.com and personally I don't like it simply because I can not customize and tweak things the way I can with blogger and viviti.

Before you begin blogging or micro-blogging you need to think about whether or not you will be in danger if your abuser finds out that you are telling the world what they have done to you. The great thing about the internet is that you can speak out with out identifying yourself or putting yourself in danger.

Another thing to think about before you use your real name...do you have kids? Do they already know everything you plan to blog about (including details you may include at times)? If you have kids and would rather they NOT read everything you plan to blog, then you may also want to use a fake name.

One thing to keep in mind is this: If you don't want to write or blog and someone else is telling you that you should...then you should think about whether or not to even start a blog. If you aren't ready to write about what has happened, well then you are not ready; period. Although many are helped greatly in their healing process through writing, there are those that are not helped at all. There are even some of us that fear writing when we first start thinking about it, after what we have been through.

So, if you don't want to do it, then don't; and do not let anyone try to force you into it. (Unless of course it is a medical professional; which I am not....then you may want to at least discuss it with them)

If you have any questions about this or how to get started please leave a comment!

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